page_title: Northern Expedition
section_title: Against Sun Chuanfang (September 1926–February 1927)
hierarchical_section_title: Northern Expedition / First phase (July 1926–April 1927) / Against Sun Chuanfang (September 1926–February 1927)
caption_attribution_description: 中文（台灣）‎: 大元帥就職日居仁堂所見之重要人物 English: Important person during Zhang Zuolin became the Grand Marshal of "National Pacification Military government"
context_page_description: The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang, also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China, which had become fragmented in the aftermath of the Revolution of 1911. The expedition was led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, and was divided into two phases. The first phase ended in a 1927 political split between two factions of the KMT: the right-leaning Nanjing faction, led by Chiang, and the left-leaning faction in Wuhan, led by Wang Jingwei. The split was partially motivated by Chiang's purging of communists within the KMT, which marked the end of the First United Front. In an effort to mend this schism, Chiang Kai-shek stepped down as the commander of the NRA in August 1927, and went into exile in Japan.
  The second phase of the Expedition began in January 1928, when Chiang resumed command. By April 1928, the nationalist forces had advanced to the Yellow River.
context_section_description: With Wu Peifu's forces in retreat, the NRA directed itself toward Sun Chuanfang-controlled Jiangxi province, namely the city of Jiujiang and the provincial capital, Nanchang. Whilst Sun had been offered a non-aggression pact by the Guangzhou government, he was not willing to subordinate his administration to KMT rule. Consequently, whilst the siege in Wuchang was still ongoing, Chiang Kai-shek launched an attack across the Jiangxi border on 4 September. By 19 September, both Jiujiang and Nanchang had come under KMT control, hastened by the defection of Lai Shih-huang, one of Sun's generals. Despite these successes, the NRA offensive was forced into retreat as Sun arrived from Nanjing with reinforcements on 21 September. Sun retook most of the territory he had lost, brutally reasserting his authority by killing hundreds of students, teachers, and suspected members of the KMT, whose severed heads he displayed on spikes in public places.
  With the Northern Expedition's advance halted, Chiang wired the government in Guangzhou, demanding an end to the still ongoing Canton–Hong Kong strike, which continued to hamper his supply chain. Negotiations with the British began on 23 September, with the strike finally called off on 10 October. This eased access to supplies for the NRA, and freed up manpower, in the form of the strikers, for the continued push north. On the same day, Wu Peifu's remaining forces at Wuchang surrendered, completing the NRA's conquest of Hubei province. As bloody fighting continued in Jiangxi, the civil governor of Zhejiang province, Xia Chao, one of Sun's subordinates, defected to the KMT government in Guangzhou. Zhejiang inhabitants had become increasingly dissatisfied with the rule of Sun, who was foreign to the province, and on 16 October, Xia declared its independence. Chiang Kai-shek, a native of Zhejiang, was able to convince Xia to side with the KMT. Following his defection, Xia launched an attack on Sun-controlled Shanghai, but was almost immediately forced to withdraw back to Zhejiang; Sun had detected Xia's plans days earlier. Sun's forces subsequently marched on Zhejiang, crushing the rebellion by 23 October. Xia was executed, along with hundreds of his troops, while thousands of civilians were massacred at Xia's former headquarters.
  Alongside the Zhejiang rebellion, the NRA had continued their offensive in Jiangxi. Adding to the pressure on Sun, the Shantou-based NRA First Army, led by He Yingqin, marched across the Guangdong border, and began a new offensive into Fujian province. NRA troops were welcomed by many locals, including the Hakka, who resented foreign control, and gradually began to infiltrate the Fujian countryside. He's forces moved up the coast, pushing toward the provincial capital, Fuzhou. By the end of October, Sun's forces were again in retreat across Jiangxi and Fujian. In early November, KMT troops moved to capture the Yangtze ports of Jiujiang and Hukou, and by 9 November retook control of Nanchang. Sun's forces abandoned substantial materiel as they retreated, bolstering the poorly-armed NRA, which suffered 20,000 casualties in the final push on Nanchang alone. Concurrently, Sun himself had left for Tianjin with the aim of seeking aid from the powerful Fengtian clique. Shandong warlord Zhang Zongchang and Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin offered assistance, agreeing that it was necessary to contain the NRA, though they demanded payment in return for their help. As the NRA offensive carved its way through Fujian, 60,000 troops from Shandong arrived in Sun-controlled Anhui province on 24 November. These were organised into the "National Pacification Army" (NPA) on 1 December. Zhang Zuolin took the position of commander-in-chief, with Zhang Zongchang and Sun Chuanfang as deputy commanders.
  This alliance was hugely unpopular with locals in the regions under Sun's control, with Zhang Zhongchang's northern troops viewed as invaders. The Zhejiang autonomy movement continued, and a meeting of influential provincial figures, nominally loyal to Sun, was held in Shanghai on 8 December.
caption: Members of the National Pacification military government, from left to right: Pan Fu, Gungsangnorbu, Wu Junsheng, Sun Chuanfang, Zhang Zuoxiang, and Zhang Zongchang
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